Memorial Day

It’s probably partly because it’s 1:10 in the morning, and I really should be sleeping, but this news story had tears running down my face. “Miracle Marine” Today is Memorial Day. Somehow this day has become another day for stores to sell things, people to get the day off of work (or whine because they didn’t), and other people to “kick off summer” on the lake or barbequing or whatever. Certainly we see the flags the city puts up, and we remember that it’s supposed to be a day set aside to remember our fallen heroes. But do we really do much more than have a passing thought?

Inspired by this news article, I did a bit of research. You can find out more information about Memorial Day here. US Memorial Day Did you know that Memorial Day was first observed on May 30th, 1868? And that it took until 1873 for the first state – New York – to officially recognize it? Memorial Day is now celebrated on the last Monday of May, thanks to Congress in 1971 to ensure a three day weekend for federal holidays.

To quote from usmemorialday.org “To help re-educate and remind Americans of the true meaning of Memorial Day, the “National Moment of Remembrance” resolution was passed on Dec 2000 which asks that at 3 p.m. local time, for all Americans “To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to ‘Taps.” “

I think it’s a neat idea. I know what I’ll do at 3pm today.

I know this isn’t a photo-related post, but it does touch on something that is important to me, and I wanted to share. Don’t get me wrong, I hope everyone has a fun Memorial Day weekend, but sometimes it’s good to remember why we have this holiday.